To celebrate the end of reaching two weeks of Slice posts, I am going to share another story about first grade readers.

This past week, I have spent the majority of my time at one of our elementary schools. It has been a lot of fun experiencing the energy of a school community again. Being at the District Office can have it's benefits but I miss seeing the students on a regular basis.

As part of the project I am working on, I have been spending a lot of time listening to first graders read and talking with them about what they just read. Since most of these students do not know me, I have taken advantage of the walk from the classroom to where I am working with them. One of my questions has been to ask them about their favorite book(s) that they read recently. I learn so much from their answers - about them, their language skills, and also who they are as readers.

Yesterday, I received this book talk and recommendation from a child for the book below. She was very persuasive about why she liked it.

I told her I would check it out and then I wrote on a sticky note the following recommendations for her (click on any book cover for more information):

Franny K. Stein by Jim Benton

Araminta Spookie by Angie Sage

The Trouble with Chickens by Doreen Cronin

I heard later from her teacher that she had very proudly and excitedly shared the sticky note with her. Yes, I smiled.

Next week is spring break, but I am excited to return to the school site after break to one of the classes to partner with the classroom teacher on a reading comprehension pilot that we are testing out. At the same time, I am excited about how I might be able to continue my book discussions with some of these students.

Now it's time to put some bins together with books to share during my visits.